A Beginners Guide to SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
As it stands, more than 5.16 billion people worldwide use the internet.
In today's increasingly digital world, almost all businesses need to maintain a strong online presence to be able to compete. Having a website is a good start, but you need to work to make sure your site is as good as it can be. This is where search engine optimisation (SEO) comes in.
In this SEO guide, we'll cover everything you need to know so you can achieve your business goals. Keep reading for more.
What Is Search Engine Optimisation?
SEO is a practice that involves several tactics, all with the goal of improving your search engine rankings. When people are looking for a product or service, almost everyone will start by searching online. Better SEO means your website will show up above your competitors when users search specific keywords.
Why Is SEO So Important?
Google is the most popular search engine in the world, and when performing a Google search, the click-through rate (CTR) for the top result is the highest by far.
For each result going down the page, the CTR drops significantly. As such, you want your website to rank as high as possible, as this will result in more organic traffic to your site.
The Pillars of SEO
SEO best practice comes down to the three pillars of SEO. Understanding these will allow you to improve your online presence and grow your brand.
On-Page SEO
On-page SEO focuses on optimising aspects of a website such as:
- Title tags
- Meta descriptions
- URL structure
- Content
- Internal linking
- Keyword research
These are all the visible aspects of your website that affect SEO. A key element of this is market research.
You need to know what your audience is looking for, what keywords they're searching, what titles will get their attention, etc. Working on these will make your website more search engine friendly, thereby improving your ranking.
Off-Page SEO
The next pillar is off-page SEO, which involves aspects outside of your website. This includes things like social media marketing, reputation management, backlinks, and influencer marketing. Again, understanding your audience is vital here.
Social media, for example, is great for SEO marketing. To get the most out of it, you need to determine what social media platforms your audience uses the most and focus your efforts appropriately.
Technical SEO
Finally, there's technical SEO, which is all about the technical aspects of your website. Unlike on-page and off-page SEO, this is more broad and works in a similar way for most businesses.
It's based on things like mobile-friendliness, website speed, and your XML sitemap. Optimising these will make it easier for search engines to crawl and index your site. They'll also improve the user experience, which can have a huge impact on how people interact with your brand.
Implementing Search Engine Optimisation
SEO is vital if you want your business to grow and succeed. It will have a huge impact on the organic traffic to your site and, therefore, the number of leads you're able to generate.
Pivotal is a leading digital marketing agency based on the Gold Coast and Brisbane and can help with Search Engine Optimisation along with various other services. Contact us today to find out more about how we can help your business.
